Cutting the Strings
by Ability King KK
Summary: Chrome is shown the similarities between Mukuro and certain villains.  Will this open her eyes and show her that she should no longer be Mukuro's puppet?


The young purple-haired thirteen-year-old girl fidgeted in her seat as she sat across from a boy her age. She kept glancing at him with her one eye before it went back to looking at her lap.

The boy, who was looking through some photos, had black hair tied into a small ponytail and spiky bangs. On the sides of his head, the hair was green in strips going straight starting from his temples and ended close to the crown in three spikes. His eyes were a bright emerald green. He wore a pair of green khaki shorts, black sneakers, and a white dress short-sleeved shirt that had two tails like a tuxedo coat. Lastly, hanging on his side by a chain, which also acted as a belt, was a sword in a sheath.

"Koichi-san, do you need some help?" asked the girl.

Letting out a sigh, the boy spoke up. "Not really, but thanks anyway, Chrome. I'm just sorting through these photos for the database back home. Right now I'm looking through the different villains of our universe and trying to determine their danger level."

Chrome looked at some of the photos that Koichi had set to the side. She shuddered a little when her sight landed on the picture of Daemon Spade, remembering what he did. Next to the photo of Daemon were two other photos. One was of a suave looking man with slicked back brown hair, though there was one strand of hair that fell over his face. The other picture was of a very pale man with long black hair and snake-like eyes.

"Koichi-san, who are these two?" asked Chrome, pointing at the two pictures.

Koichi looked up to see what Chrome wanted and his face became a grimace as he saw the pictures. "Those are two villains I hope you never have to meet, Chrome."

"Who are they though?"

"…The snake man is Orochimaru. He's a villain from Naruto's world, Konohagakure. His main goal is to learn every known jutsu in the universe and plans to destroy Konoha. This is why he convinced Uchiha Sasuke to join him so he could gain control of Sasuke's Sharingan, which would allow him to copy any jutsu. He's also known to use people and then kill them when he has no more use of them.

"The other one is Sosuke Aizen. He's a villain from Ichigo's world, Soul Society. His goal was to become a god by using something known as the Hogyoku and make a new world with himself as king. Like Orochimaru, he manipulates people into doing his bidding and then kills them once he has no more need of them."

"They sound like Daemon," stated Chrome with another shudder.

"Indeed. They also sound like Mukuro-teme."

"Nani?"

"Think about it, Chrome. Whether you want to admit it or not, Mukuro uses you for his own gain. In fact, Mukuro is almost exactly like Daemon, in both looks and personality."

"But…"

"Chrome, do you know who these two are?" asked Koichi as he placed to photos in front of Chrome. One was of a white-haired boy a couple years older than Koichi and Chrome and had two red dots on his forehead. The other was of a dark-skinned man with his hair in dreadlocks and a band across his eyes.

"Ano, I'm afraid I do not, Koichi-san."

"The boy is Kaguya Kimimaro and the man is Kaname Tosen. Kimimaro, in the past, became the last of his clan after they tried to destroy Kirigakure and failed. Left alone, Kimimaro was found by Orochimaru, who upon finding out he was Kaguya planned on using him as a new vessel. Years later though, Kimimaro became ill with a life threatening disease and was then tossed aside by Orochimaru like trash. Kimimaro died in battle thinking he could still be of some use to Orochimaru, but it was for naught.

Tosen was a man who thought justice was absolute and because of that, Aizen was able to manipulate him to his side by not only making him think that the Soul Society was corrupted and needed to be destroyed, but by using his grief over his dead friend. Like Kimimaro, Tosen died in battle, but by Aizen's hand since he outlived his usefulness.

Both used like puppets and then thrown away when become "broken tools". I don't want to see that happen to you, Chrome, because it's obvious Mukuro-teme will do the same as what Orochimaru, Aizen, and Daemon did."

"…You really think Mukuro-sama would do that, Koichi-san?" questioned the little illusionist. She really didn't want the man who saved her to throw her away.

The young swordsman gave a frustrated exhale through the nose. "Hai, I do, Chrome. It's for that reason alone you have to become stronger with your illusions, so you no longer need Mukuro. As long as you're "weak", you forever be in Mukuro's shadow."

The young illusionist started to fidget again, this time fear was creeping over her body. The thought of Mukuro getting rid of her was a scary thought. What would she do and where would she go if that happened?

"But…"

"If you're worried about what to do if Mukuro does throw you away, you could always stay with Tsuna. He cares about you," said Koichi.

"That's only because I'm his Mist Guardian," said Chrome in a quiet voice.

Koichi stared at Chrome with a deadpan look. He sometimes forgets that Chrome is naïve when it comes interacting with people and wouldn't know the difference between how people treat each other.

"…Chrome, you may be his Mist Guardian, but I can assure you, he considers you as a friend first and guardian second."

Chrome gave a small smile. She was happy knowing that Bossu would be there for her. Maybe she should listen to Koichi and get out of Mukuro's shadow, as he put it.

"Koichi-san, would you help me get stronger?"

Koichi smiled in return. He then gathered up the photos and sealed them away so they wouldn't get destroyed.

Turning to Chrome once he was done, he answered. "Of course, Chrome. Come on, we should head to some open space before we start."

The two stood up and left the room, heading outside. Koichi glanced over at Chrome with a smile. It wouldn't happen right away, but he hoped that one day he could cut the strings Mukuro had on Chrome and set her free.

**FIN**

**-:-**

**It's always sad seeing how Mukuro treats Chrome. I was so hoping he would have died in the battle with Daemon, but alas, it didn't happen.**

**Anyway, this fic came about when I noticed how similar Mukuro was to Orochimaru and Aizen in how they treat their minions. Hopefully though, Chrome doesn't end up with the same fate that befell Kimimaro, Tosen, and Starrk.**

**Koichi is owned by me.**


End file.
